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The world's largest insurance company, the French-based AXA Group, has established its Asia Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong to tap into what it calls tomorrow's insurance market.

The Regional Chief Executive Life, AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd, Mr Mark Pearson, said today (October 18): "Asia, with its high insurance potential growth, is tomorrow's insurance market for AXA. To achieve success in Asia, AXA needs to be present today."

"Our strategic intent in establishing this regional headquarters in Hong Kong is to provide functional expertise, assist growth and build scale to the region," he said.

Mr Pearson added: "We see tremendous business opportunities in the region, and have full confidence in Hong Kong as a gateway to both China and the Asian markets and as an international hub for financial services."

The Financial Secretary, Mr Antony Leung, officiated at the opening of AXA Asia Life Regional Centre today. Mr Leung said: "Of all the cities in Asia, Hong Kong has the most competitive edge in the Mainland, which has the largest potential market in the world."

"This highlights Hong Kong's unrivalled location for multinational companies to manage their growing business in the Asia Pacific region," he said.

Welcoming AXA's move to set up its regional headquarters in Hong Kong, the acting Director-General of Invest Hong Kong, Miss Helen Lindsay Peterson said: "Hong Kong has already developed into a leading insurance centre in Asia and has attracted many of the world's top insurers such as AXA."

"With the progressive liberalisation of the Mainland's insurance market after China's accession to the World Trade Organisation, there will be ample business opportunities for those global insurers like AXA, who base their regional headquarters in Hong Kong," she said.

AXA operates in about 60 countries and employs some 140,000 people around the world. In Asia it has a presence in 12 countries and is one of the five foreign insurers permitted to operate in China since 1999.

Invest Hong Kong is a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government department charged with providing a one stop shop for investment support services.

It has assisted overseas investors like AXA to set up or expand in Hong Kong.

End/Thursday, October 18, 2001

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